MARK SHEPPARD ARTICLES

December 2, 2010 - After making little headway in their pursuit to get Sam's (Jared Padalecki) soul back, Sam and Dean (Jensen Ackles) are about at their wit's end when suddenly Meg Masters (Rachel Miner) walzes back into their lives. Like the Winchesters, Meg is interested in tracking down Crowley (Mark Sheppard), so they decide to team up.

November 11, 2010 - After learning the truth about Sam (Jared Padalecki), the boys are all ears when Crowley (Mark Sheppard) offers Sam his soul. It's not without strings, of course. All Sam and Dean (Jensen Ackles) have to do is bag a live "alpha."

November 6, 2010 - Supernatural has apparently noticed that pop culture is obsessed with vampires since we are getting another vampire hunt in this week's episode. This is not your typical vampire however, this time around the search is for the alpha version of the monster, and things definitely do not go as planned.

October 17, 2010 - "Weekend at Bobby's" is a first for Supernatural as series co-star Jensen Ackles directs an episode that focuses on the character of Bobby, with the Winchester brothers appearing only for a few minutes. Ackles does a great job as director, letting the tale of Bobby's quest to regain his soul from Crowley unfold in Supernatural's trademark sad, yet amusing, way.

October 14, 2010 - Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) are in the middle of a hunt when they get a call from Bobby (Jim Beaver), who asks for their help. Bobby has helped the Winchesters countless times, but the boys are reluctant to get involved with Crowley (Mark Sheppard). Bobby needs a hand unearthing Crowley's deepest secret, in hopes of eventually getting his soul back.

September 1, 2010 - New showrunner Sera Gamble talks about the next step for Sam & Dean, as they're joined by Grampa for Season 6. We also chat about returning characters, the Supernatural anime series and much more.

August 11, 2010 - Pete Lattimer has been the class-clown of Warehouse 13 since the beginning. But in this week's episode we saw an entirely new side of him. It's great development for a character who was getting a bit too predictable and one-dimensional. This story added depth to the character, and gave Eddie McClintock a chance to show how versatile his acting can be.

July 21, 2010 - I have mixed feelings about this latest episode of Warehouse 13. On one hand, there were times where it was just silly to the point of bordering on ridiculous. On the other hand, it was still fairly entertaining and some of the story elements were executed rather well. Warehouse 13 has never been a show that took itself all that seriously, and it owes a lot of its unique charm to its ability to go beyond the mere fantastical and into the realm of the absurd. Sometimes that formula doesn't work out so well, but I think this time, for the most part, the end result is pretty entertaining.

May 7, 2010 - If last week's Supernatural felt like it was a lot of set up, then this week is when things start to pay off. There is a lot to accomplish, and Dean and Sam finally have a semblance of a plan. There's nothing like waiting till the last second, right boys?

April 30, 2010 - When the Winchesters decide to work with the demon Crowley, they are putting their trust in "The Devil You Know", or more specifically, the demon they think they know at least little bit more than they know Lucifer. Considering that Crowley is the most entertaining part of this episode, I'm all for it.

April 5, 2010 - Spoiler Warning: The full events of this episode are discussed in this review. Pretty awesome, huh? I watched "Chuck Versus The Other Guy" yesterday at WonderCon, and even with only one day to wait, I was pretty anxious for it to air, so I could freely talk about the events of the episode. And what an episode it was, starting with the fact that…

March 30, 2010 - Well played, Chuck creators! All season long, there has been a contingent of the fandom very upset with the presence of Daniel Shaw, but I think this episode will please most of them, by reconfiguring Shaw's purpose in the series.

February 25, 2010 - Leverage's second season of heists and hokum was a bit of a mixed bag. The great two-part Season 1 finale proved that this show works best when it throws in a bit of heavy-handed drama to counter-balance the frivolity. Nate's drinking arc and the revelations about his son's death worked extremely well when it was incorporated into the gang's usual blend of savant hi-jinx. Unfortunately, Season 2 wasn't able to match that level of intrigue – at least not all the way through...

February 19, 2010 - As silly and inconsequential as Leverage can feel at times, it sure can deliver on great season finales. "The Maltese Falcon Job" was pretty great from start to finish and contained some really good dramatic moments as well as much needed scenes of unapologetic bad-assery.

February 11, 2010 - "The Three Strikes Job" was an interesting, if not wholly satisfying, episode that I think worked to set up what might be a much better with next week's Season 2 finale. I want to take a moment to commend the show for actually have Nate (Timothy Hutton) and Team Leverage fail (for lack of a better word) at bringing down their target. There were several moments early on that were pretty cool, but in hind-sight they all get negated due to the fact that Nate basically wound up having the wrong man. I liked the fact that the Team had to scramble to figure out just exactly what was dirty about Mayor Culpepper (Richard Kind), but in the end it was all for naught...

February 4, 2010 - Both the sleazy Agent Sterling (Mark Sheppard) and Nate's ex-wife Maggie (Kari Matchett) returned in style for the clever, surprising episode, "The Zanzibar Marketplace Job." This episode pretty much had it all. Not a ton of drama per say, but everything else was right on target. I much prefer episodes like this - with more of an espionage feel and twisting, turning cons – than some of the more typical "Let's steal us a…" masquerade ball goof-offs. Aside for a quick sting as a Ukrainian internet bribe by Parker (Beth Riesgraf), no one here had to play an outrageous, over-the-top character. The team was free to get down to business and do what they do best.

November 20, 2009 - The humorous episodes of Supernatural are fun, but after so many in a row it is a relief that "Abandon All Hope..." gets back to the main storyline of the season. However, a title like that should be some indication of where things are going to be left standing when this episode ends. Dean and Sam finally get the Colt back, and they set out on a mission to find and kill Lucifer. They have little hope for success, but know they have to at least try.

September 24, 2009 - There's definitely cause for optimism going forward on Dollhouse, because not only was the show getting stronger as it went along, but the unaired episode, "Epitaph One" (available on the Season 1 DVD set), was very cool and set into place plenty of notable story pieces going forward. On top of that, this week's season premiere, "Vows", is another good episode that seems to indicate a show with much surer footing than it had when it debuted.
But things aren't perfect yet. Dollhouse has a complicated, multi-faceted scenario that often doesn't make for the most inviting of series. And when it comes to the characters, the show has often kept the audience at arm's length -- which may go hand in hand with a series about people who are literally turned into blank slates, but is not the most conducive situation to make for a fully engaging series, nor playing to Joss Whedon's strengths. That being the case, you'll see that nearly all of the suggestions that follow for what we want in Season 2 are centered on the characters.

September 9, 2009 - There's an old saying that writing teachers have on the subject of how to create conflict in stories: "Put your characters in a tree, then throw rocks at them. Then throw bigger rocks. Then set the tree on fire." That's pretty much the modus operandi for this episode. The writers kept Pete, Myka, and Claudia in a constant state of distress while Uncle Artie is away taking care of more "grown-up" business.